News#1
The Golden Compass
November 27, 2007
Dear Pastors, Administrators, Principals and Colleagues,
There has been a great deal of hype and controversy about "The Golden Compass" an alleged children's adventure film which debuts December 7, 2007. Here is a media analysis including quotes from the author of the original book. I hope you will be able to use all or part of it in the parish bulletin before the premiere.
Dear Pastors, Administrators, Principals and Colleagues,
There has been a great deal of hype and controversy about "The Golden Compass" an alleged children's adventure film which debuts December 7, 2007. Here is a media analysis including quotes from the author of the original book. I hope you will be able to use all or part of it in the parish bulletin before the premiere.
MEDIA ALERT
As some of you may know New Line Cinema premiers The Golden Compass their big budget fantasy film on December 7th 2007. It could be the first in a trilogy. It has been advertised as a children's adventure. So now is the time to say Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware!
Unlike the beloved Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass has a very different message. In an interview with the Washington Post the author Philip Pullman says: "I am trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief."
The film is based on the first volume of Mr. Pullman's trilogy HIS DARK MATERIALS originally written as adult fantasy science fiction. This film is thinly veiled hate mail for God and Christian beliefs and it uses children. Quoting Pullman: "My publishers' decision to publish the trilogy as children's literature was a brilliant trick and has them flying off the shelves. I doubt that they would have done as well on the adult shelves with so much competition in the genre."
The Dark Force throughout the trilogy is called the Magisterium. Investigating all sorts of dictionaries and encyclopedias yields only one real life definition for that word - "the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church." Magisterium equals dark force is a great message for our children.
In the film, children begin to disappear. The dark forces kidnap them and perform harmful experiments upon them. Other children seek them out to their peril. Now there is a nice Christmas film for Catholic families. The film is the hook for the less benign books, video-games that debut in time for Christmas!
The children's triumphal moment of the book trilogy occurs when they open a "jewel" containing the fraudulent fallen angel calling himself God and he dies. The children liberate everyone creating an atheistic heaven on earth.
The film is rated PG 13. Pullman and New Line are hoping to cash in on the trendy fantasy film genre. Whatever New Line Cinema waters down -- however they spin the hype -- this media alert is designed to inform you about the real product content before you buy a ticket, a book or a game.
Marianna Thompson, Director of Communications
Diocese of Paterson
email: diocom@patersondiocese.org
phone: 973-278-3202
Price: $0.00
